‘Mr. Peabody & Sherman,’ ’300: Rise of an Empire’: Review Revue

This week at the multiplex, we’ve got a dog and his boy (“Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” with voice performances by Ty Burrell and Stephen Colbert) and some raging Spartans (“300: Rise of an Empire,” starring Sullivan Stapleton and Eva Green). Find out what the critics have to say on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Mr. Peabody & Sherman”

It’s never easy to stretch a series of shorts to feature-film length, especially when the source material is largely unfamiliar to its intended audience. Fortunately, critics say “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” is a mostly successful big screen adaptation, with enough cleverness and goofy action to please kids and their parents. Canine genius Mr. Peabody (voiced by Ty Burrell) and his adopted charge Sherman (Max Charles) use the WABAC machine to travel back in time and ensure that history’s greatest moments happen as they should. However, when Sherman takes the machine for a joyride to impress a classmate, it’s up to his doggie guardian to rescue him. “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” is currently at 75 percent on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer; check out some of the reviews here:

Fresh: “Peabody may be the embodiment of intellect, but it’s his sweet soul that comes across strongest in the film.” — Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice

Fresh: “What a relief to see that while ‘Mr. Peabody’s’ visuals are enhanced to sleek 21st-century standards, the essential charm of the series survives more or less intact.” — Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Fresh: “['Mr. Peabody & Sherman'] is not perfect, but it is fast-moving, intermittently witty and pretty good fun.” — A.O. Scott, New York Times

Rotten: “[The film] retains the main characters, the WABAC machine, the trips through history – but not the sense of nuttiness that made the TV cartoon so delightful.” — Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

“300: Rise of an Empire”

If you’re in the mood for stylized bloodshed, you’re in luck: “300: Rise of an Empire” is chock full of beheadings, hacked-off limbs, and gallons of blood. But critics say beyond its admittedly impressive visuals, the film is short on the heroic bombast of its predecessor. This time out, it’s a band of plucky seafaring Spartans, lead by Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) against the mighty Persian navy, headed by Artemisia (Eva Green); as we eventually learn through a series of flashbacks, this fight is partially driven by personal animosity. “300: Rise of an Empire” is currently at 49 percent on the Tomatometer; here’s a rundown of the reviews:

Rotten: “‘Rise of an Empire’ peddles a very particular, fetishized form of masculine hero worship, but all in service of little more than a state-of-the-art showcase for unremitting violence.” — Brent Simon, Screen International

Rotten: “‘Rise Of An Empire’ retains the earlier film’s hyper-stylized, digital backlot slickness, but without the Spartan rah-rah-rah that has ensured 300′s enduring popularity.” — Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club